5 Best Elin Hilderbrand Books

Are you struggling to pick which Elin Hilderbrand books to read first? Don’t worry, I feel your pain!

Top 5 Elin Hilderbrand Books

Elin has many fantastic novels to choose from, and it can be very difficult to decide which novels are worth your time. 

The choice gets even harder when you have all of the books laid out in front of you! You feel like you’re missing out on whichever book you decide not to choose. 

There is no need to fret, though! We have compiled a list of the top 5 best Elin Hilderbrand books for you to read today! 

Elin Hilderbrand is an American romance author. Her novels are commonly set on and around Nantucket Island, which is where she lives. Elin was born and raised in Pennsylvania.

She has been dubbed the ‘queen of beach reads’, as her novels are fantastic holiday reads.

Elin has won several different awards for her books and she has established a reputation as a great writer. 

Elin has won several different awards for her novels and she has established a strong reputation as a great writer who writes some fantastic romance novels. Her novels are filled with drama, thrill, and emotion. 

Hilderbrand’s novels tell of romance, affairs, and murders. It can be very difficult to decide which Hilderbrand books to focus on, but this article has you covered! 

Barefoot

Barefoot: A Novel

This is top of the list for the best Elin Hilderbrand book.

In this book, you will experience an array of different scandals, including infidelity, marriage, and the mayhem of motherhood. 

This story follows three women who are burdened with small children and some emotional issues. They all find themselves at Nantucket airport on one hot June day. 

Vicki is sorting through the news of her serious illness, trying to come to terms with it.

Her sister, Brenda, has recently left her job as a teacher after being caught having an affair with a student.

Melanie, their friend, has become pregnant after several rounds of IVF. This fantastic news came just after she found out about her husband’s affair. 

They have all come to get away from their lives back home, enjoy the sunny weather and relax in the calming air of Nantucket. 

When Josh Flynn steps into their world, it is turned upside down and the four lives are tied together in an enthralling story.

This is a fun and memorable story that will bring you back to that feeling summer gave you during childhood.

This novel is definitely top of the list for Elin Hilderbrand novels that you must read. It is a very atmospheric novel that brings you into the lives of these women.

It brings with it a lot of emotion, while still being engaging enough to keep you reading. 

Pros

  • Filled with great themes 
  • Atmospheric novel

Cons

  • Some dark themes

The Identicals

The Identicals

This is definitely one of the top 5 Elin Hilderbrand novels. It is a fun and delightful novel that you won’t be able to put down.

The story follows identical twin sisters who, despite looking very alive, live completely differently from each other. 

This book made the New York Times bestseller list immediately upon release because it was such a successful novel. 

This novel follows Harper and Tabitha Frost who are estranged twin sisters.

While Nantucket is only eleven miles away from Martha’s Vineyard, their lifestyles are completely opposing. 

After the pair have spent more than a decade living their lives separately from each other and not speaking to each other, Harper and Tabitha decide that they are going to switch lives in order to save what is left of their splintered family. 

It doesn’t take the twins long to realize that lies, secrets, and gossip doesn’t take long to reach them, wherever they are. 

This story is one of sibling rivalry, and it leaves you wondering whether the pair will be able to end their rivalry once and for all.

So much happens during this story that it will definitely see the summer come to an end as the most talked about summer that Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard have experienced in a long time.

The cases of mistaken identity, new lovers, and old resentments will have made sure of this.

This is such a fantastic story, and it is a perfect holiday read. This is definitely one that you should try out if you’re looking for the best Elin Hilderbrand books to read.

Pros

  • Filled with exciting themes 
  • Great holiday read 

Cons

  • Slow to get started

The Perfect Couple

The Perfect Couple

The Perfect Couple is another New York Times Bestseller by Elin Hilderbrand.

It is a fantastic book that definitely shouldn’t be left off the list for the top 5 Elin Hilderbrand books. 

This novel is set during Nantucket’s wedding season, which takes place throughout the summer in Nantucket!

It is very common to see a bride roaming the beaches at this time of year. 

The wedding between Otis and Winbury is set to be the event of the summer, and one to remember for years to come.

The groom has wealthy parents who have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony for the couple’s wedding.

This will take palace on the family’s oceanfront estate. 

The wedding will end up being memorable for all of the wrong reasons.

When a body is found in Nantucket Harbor just before the ceremony, everyone at the wedding suddenly becomes suspicious. 

The story unfolds as the Chief of Police Ed Kapenash begins to interview the groom, the bride, and the groom’s mother, who is a famous mystery novelist.

It becomes clear that every wedding is a minefield, and every couple has their own secrets. 

This book features characters from some of Elin Hilderbrand’s other novels. You will see characters from The Castaways, and A Summer Affair.

This book again displays Hilderbrand’s place as the queen of the beach reads, and it will not disappoint! 

Pros

  • Great beach read

Cons

  • Some parts of the novel are quite slow

The Island

The Island: A Novel

This is another novel that you definitely shouldn’t miss by Elin Hilderbrand.

This story follows a family who, after a canceled wedding, fill an island summer with heartache, surprises, and laughter.

Birdie Cousins has spent a lot of time planning her daughter Chess’s wedding.

She has thought of every detail, from the floating dance floor to the color of the napkins.

As the mother of the bride, she is filled with excitement, tears, and joy.

All of this only makes it harder when Chess phones Birdie late at night with the news of her canceled engagement. 

This is only the beginning for this family and marks the start of a summer of revelations and upheavals.

Before the dust has settled on the canceled engagement, the family receives some even more shocking news.

Chess doesn’t take the news well and begins to tailspin into a fit of despair. 

Birdie enlists the help of her daughter, Tate, and her sister, India, and the family pool together to escape their troubles.

They all head out to the beautiful Tuckernuck Island which is located off the coast of Nantucket. They all need some time away without phones and television. 

Placing sisters, daughters, and secrets on an island doesn’t go as smoothly as was once thought.

Before the end of the summer, you will experience old loves rekindled and new loves coming to the forefront. 

Pros

  • Shows familial relationships 

Cons

  • Some emotional moments

Summer Of 69

Summer of '69

This novel reached number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It is a historical novel that is set during the summer of 1969. 

In this novel, we follow the Levin family. Times are changing for the family.

Every year, the children of the family spend the summer at their grandmother’s home in Nantucket.

When they head there for the summer of 69, just like any other year, everything has changed. 

Blair, the oldest sister, is unable to head to Nantucket for the summer because she is pregnant with twins and is not able to travel. 

Kirby, the middle sister, takes a summer job in Martha’s Vineyard. She is determined to be independent. 

Tiger, the only son of the family, is a soldier who has recently been deployed to Vietnam. 

This leaves 13-year-old Jessie feeling like an only child.

She is stuck in the house in Nantucket with her grandmother and mother. Each of them is keeping their own secrets. 

During the summer man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family are dragged into their own dramas, along with the rest of the country. 

This is Hilderbrand’s first historical novel, and it is filled with details of an era that shaped the nation.

Yet again, Hilderbrand has delivered on her title as queen of the summer read.

Pros

  • Great summer read 

Cons

  • Some sad moments in the novels

Buyer’s Guide 

When it comes to Elin Hilderbrand, there are many things to look out for in her novels.

These factors will help you choose whether reading Elin Hilderbrand is for you. 

Exciting And Dramatic Novels 

Elin Hilderbrand’s stories are very exciting and dramatic. There is never a dull moment during a summer in Nantucket, and these things are happening all around you.

Some of these happenings are good, some bad, but all of them are dramatic. 

Secrets

If you are looking for some suspense in your beach reads, then Elin Hilderbrand is definitely for you.

There isn’t one Hilderbrand novel that doesn’t contain secrets and deceit. 

While these secrets range from small secrets to large secrets, there is no novel void of any secrets!

Queen Of Summer Novels 

As I’ve mentioned many times in this article, Elin Hilderbrand has been dubbed the queen of summer reads.

She is a bestselling author who always knows how to keep her readers interested.

Her readers are constantly waiting for exciting, dramatic, and mysterious content from her, and she never fails to deliver!

From beach reads, all you want are some juicy storylines, suspenseful mysteries, and heart-wrenching affairs. Hilderbrand has all this to offer, and more!

Characters 

Hilderbrand also delivers on writing excellent characters in these books.

You will undoubtedly fall in love with the main characters in each novel, and you will have your own favorite secondary characters too.

Hilderbrand really does have an art for writing intriguing, frustrating, and likable characters. 

Emotion 

It is sometimes presumed that beach reads do not have any emotion in them, instead just following a couple as they fall in love.

However, Hilderbrand disproves this as she fills her novels with emotion.

Unexpected Twists 

Elin’s novels are filled with unexpected twists and turns. Her stories always begin happily and then the readers are taken on a journey of unexpected twists that spin a web of problems that the characters have to solve.

Twists and turns are a great part of romance novels and it is something that not every romance novel has.

You will definitely be pleasantly surprised if you like a romance novel with plenty of twists and turns as Hilderbrand definitely delivers on this front.

Final Thoughts

Elin Hilderbrand has many incredible novels, so it wasn’t easy narrowing down the 5 best Elin Hilderbrand books.

However, I am confident in the 5 on this list. If you are hoping to start reading her novels on your next holiday, choose one of these 5, and you won’t be disappointed!

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Books Has Elin Hilderbrand Written?

Elin Hilderbrand has written 32 novels. She is a very successful author and her books have made the New York Times bestseller list multiple times.

What Motivated Elin Hilderbrand To Write These Novels?

Hilderbrand was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. She had to undergo a double mastectomy which had a big impact on her stories.

It didn’t affect her writing negatively, but it encouraged her to add some drama to her stories which were already exciting. 

What Are Elin Hilderbrand’s Best Novels?

Elin Hilderbrand has written many novels and it was not an easy task to choose her best ones.

It is important to note that just because we have chosen these 5 novels, there are many other novels by Hilderbrand that are equally as exciting and thrilling!

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Noah Burton